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=Welcome to LIT241 - Introduction to Mythology= =Winter 2011=


 * Hindus Find Ganges in New York**


 * Recent Makah Whaling**

I will hand this out Thursday in class, but in case you are here and interested - or in case you need it later, here it is.
 * SE Asia Paper and Presentation Assignment Handout**

I will use this site throughout the class. If there is something more you think would be helpful to have added to this site, please let me know (I do not allow students to join this site - sorry!). You will see a lot more information here than you need right away - please do not worry about it. You are not "responsible" for any information here that is not directly assigned to you during the class. At the same time, be careful about trying to "work ahead," since I tend to make class-by-class assignment decisions based on our daily progress and changing interests.
 * Welcome!**

The Grandfathers A young man, deep in the Amazon jungle, searches for his identity while living with the primitive tribe that murdered his grandfather.

History of the Library

Library in Ruins How 'great texts' can be lost, even in our own day and age.

"In my role as a teacher, my drive and enthusiasm [...] owe much to my assumption that all of my students are essentially good human beings, interested in the pursuit of knowledge, and willing to work hard. Believing that they are good, I want to be good for them. I feel challenged to match their excellence. Am I deluding myself in thinking the best of them? At times, perhaps I am. But what really counts is that almost all of them will rise to the occasion, riding the tide of my trust. As I think the best of them, they will be shaped by the credit I am willing to give them. They will begin to become what I think they are. This is one of teachers' greatest rewards."

~P.M. Forni from his book //Choosing Civility//

Untitled by K. Frances

We dissect and digest that which we think we know only to find out that what we thought we knew isn't necessarily what we believe.

From //Journal of Ordinary Thought//, Winter 2009

Sound and Spirit: [|Goddesses] Demeter at 6:00.

Mircrosoft Users: If you don't already have Office 2010, Microsoft is offering a great deal: $80 for Microsoft Professional Academic 2010 for students enrolled in at least a half-credit. You will never find a cheaper, LEGAL price for this product. Some of you may also know about freeware or shareware products that are very similar to MS and are, well - FREE. Great also - but best for 'local' academic use of simple functions. Not what you'll find used in classes or too much at all in the business realm.

A [|YouTube video]on a guy from Flint who has theorized the methodology used to create Stonehenge. About six minutes long - really quite amazing to see - especially the part where he moves a pole barn!

[|The Undertaking] a documentary about death, dying and funeral culture in the United States, focusing on Thomas Lynch, undertaker and poet from Michigan.

[|Eyes Wide Open] is a display that was brought to Delta College last spring.

[|Savant's Sallies Blog: Dyed in Caste by Randeep Wadehra and Amar Nath Wadehra] These two writers give an interesting commentary on the existence of the caste system in contemporary India, and well as drawing parallels with similar systems in other cultures and religions.

Four Days, Nights: A Girls' Coming-of-Age Story The Isnati Awica Dowanpi coming-of-age ceremony revives the tradition of the Yankton Sioux / Ihanktonwan Oyate tribe, and teaches girls about womanhood.

Our Storied Lives: The Quest for Something More

New to the area in September of 2010: Tri-city Hindu Temple

There was some discussion of local money and trading chickens in class today. One of these is more "real" than the other, but both are interesting to check out. Also, here's the link to the Dennos Museum in Traverse City, housing the Inuit art collection not only in their museum (where you can purchase artwork), but also displayed around the campus of Northwestern Michigan College.
 * April 22, 2010**

A great YouTube video site Explore Team: "Through travel to non-profit organizations all over the world -- from Darfur to the Arctic, New Orleans to Tibet -- explore personalizes philanthropy and rediscovers the human element. See how courageous NGO leaders are making a difference and hear their awe-inspiring stories at EXPLORE.ORG, an online collection of short documentary films and photography."
 * April 21, 2010**

Check out this news story about the existence of ancient artifacts in Lake Huron which could prove the presence of a hunting site (now under water) some 7,500 - 10,000 years old: Ancient Hunting Site May Rest Under Lake Huron
 * March 19, 2010**



The work of brilliant mythology scholars using Doyle's themes of creation myth to analyze creation stories from around the world.

Ways in which history and mythology are lost: Ancient tribal language becomes extinct as last speaker dies.


 * February 5, 2010**

Paintings by Christine Gray “In my work I look at cultural mythologies that misrepresent nature and our relationship to it,” writes Christine Gray. Her most recent body of work focuses on the American myth of the seeker, “traveling alone through untouched landscapes in search of a revelatory experience of the divine.” “Through the arrangement of objects,” Gray continues, “the absent character in my paintings actively imagines the sublime in nature with limited access to its vistas. Natural objects are combined with man-made materials to achieve a device, costume, or shelter that encourages the spiritual journey that they seek. (Guernica Magazine)